The 3 December 1828 moderate earthquake at the border between Belgium and Germany     

Elisabeth Knuts  Thierry Camelbeeck  Pierre Alexandre 《Journal of Seismology》2016,20(2):419-437

On 3 December 1828 at half past six in the evening, the border region between Belgium and Germany was stricken by a moderate earthquake. Up to now, the available information on this event has been essentially provided by a few contemporaneous scientific studies. To better evaluate its impact, location and magnitude, we have searched for new original historical reports. We collected 57 additional witness testimonies, which complete those previously collected about the earthquake effects. Among the testimonies, we also retrieved a questionnaire sent by the Prussian government to local authorities with the purpose of quickly obtaining information on the earthquake effects in the western part of the kingdom of Prussia. This inquiry is the oldest of its kind that has been discovered to date in this part of Europe, suggesting a rare concern by a national authority about the seismic hazard, and prefiguring the seismic inquiries that scientific institutions use today. The analysis of these new data made it possible to evaluate the intensity in 50 cities out of the 75 where the earthquake was observed. From these intensity data, we determine that the epicentre was in the Hautes-Fagnes region [lat. 50.38°N/long. 6.19°E?±?30 km] where moderate damage, corresponding to EMS-98 intensity VI–VII, was observed. At large distances, the earthquake was felt as far as Düsseldorf to the north, Brussels to the west, Metz to the south and Wiesbaden to the east. These distances correspond to a perceptibility radius of about 150 km. The magnitude of this earthquake is evaluated to be M_L?=?4.7 (?0.2/+0.5) and M_W?=?4.2 (+0.4/?0.2).  相似文献   

Contourites in the Gulf of Cadiz: a cautionary note on potentially ambiguous indicators of bottom current velocity   总被引：1，自引：1，他引：0  

Thierry Mulder  Rim Hassan  Emmanuelle Ducassou  Sébastien Zaragosi  Eliane Gonthier  Vincent Hanquiez  Elodie Marchès  Samuel Toucanne 《Geo-Marine Letters》2013,33(5):357-367

Facies associations in cores collected in the deep part of the Gulf of Cadiz, which is under the influence of the lower branch of the Mediterranean Outflow Water, are investigated in terms of the classical contourite model using grain-size analyses and thin sections of indurated sediment. Cores include both low-energy (contourite drift) and high-energy (channel) environments. The thin sections and grain-size distributions show that clayey fine silts and sandy coarse silts are the most common facies associations in the studied contourite sequences, while coarse-grained, gravelly contourites are less common. Grain-size distributions are unimodal in the fine-grained and bi- or trimodal in the coarser-grained contourites. This change in grain-size composition is related both to the partial removal of the fine-grained fraction and to the replenishment of the coarser-grained one. In addition, most of the contacts between individual facies are sharp rather than transitional. This suggests that the contourite sequence is only in part related to changes in bottom current velocity and flow competency, but may also be related to the supply of a coarser terrigeneous particle stock, provided by either increased erosion of indurated mud along the flanks of confined contourite channels (mud clasts), or by increased sediment supply by rivers (quartz grains) and downslope mass transport on the continental shelf and upper slope. The classical contourite facies association may therefore not be solely controlled by current velocity, but may be the product of a variety of depositional histories. The classical contourite depositional sequence should therefore be interpreted with greater care and in the light of the regional sedimentological background. In addition, the wisdom of exclusively using mean or modal particle size for the interpretation of depositional contourite processes is questioned. Instead, it is proposed that the vertical evolution of grain-size populations in the facies successions forming contourite sequences be assessed.  相似文献   

Populus nigra L. establishment and fluvial landform construction: biogeomorphic dynamics within a channelized river          下载免费PDF全文

Dov Corenblit  Johannes Steiger  Gaspard Charrier  José Darrozes  Virginia Garófano‐Gómez  Alexandre Garreau  Eduardo González  Angela M. Gurnell  Borbála Hortobágyi  Frédéric Julien  Luc Lambs  Sébastien Larrue  Thierry Otto  Erwan Roussel  Franck Vautier  Olivier Voldoire 《地球表面变化过程与地形》2016,41(9):1276-1292

Populations of the riparian pioneer species Populus nigra L. which establish on alluvial bars within river channels modulate sediment dynamics and fluvial landforms. Dense cohorts of P. nigra have colonized gravel point bars along the channelized River Garonne, France, during the last 20 years and have enhanced the vertical, lateral and longitudinal development of the bars. For this period, the geomorphic characteristics of two wooded point bars on this laterally stable river are closely linked to the spatial distribution and intensity of establishment and resistance of different cohorts of P. nigra. Furthermore, P. nigra colonization dynamics were controlled by engineer effects of this same species. This relationship is illustrated by a significant correlation between key geomorphic and biological variables measured in situ and characterized with a set of four aerial photographs taken between 2000 and 2010. The development of wooded point bars, which are discrete biogeomorphic units, over the studied period, appear to result from a specific biogeomorphic positive feedback of matter aggregation and vegetation establishment related to sediment trapping and stabilization by pioneer engineer plants. We propose a conceptual model of biogeomorphic unit construction for channelized, lateral stable rivers. We consider the resultant biogeomorphic units as functional from an ecological point of view because P. nigra enhances at the cohort scale (i) its own inherent capacity to resist hydrogeomorphic disturbances, and (ii) its resilience capacity as a result of successful colonization, especially downstream of mature poplar stands. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.  相似文献   

Abrupt millennial variability and interdecadal-interstadial oscillations in a global coupled model: sensitivity to the background climate state     

Olivier Arzel  Matthew H. England  Alain Colin de Verdière  Thierry Huck 《Climate Dynamics》2012,39(1-2):259-275

The origin and bifurcation structure of abrupt millennial-scale climate transitions under steady external solar forcing and in the absence of atmospheric synoptic variability is studied by means of a global coupled model of intermediate complexity. We show that the origin of Dansgaard-Oeschger type oscillations in the model is caused by the weaker northward oceanic heat transport in the Atlantic basin. This is in agreement with previous studies realized with much simpler models, based on highly idealized geometries and simplified physics. The existence of abrupt millennial-scale climate transitions during glacial times can therefore be interpreted as a consequence of the weakening of the negative temperature-advection feedback. This is confirmed through a series of numerical experiments designed to explore the sensitivity of the bifurcation structure of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation to increased atmospheric CO₂ levels under glacial boundary conditions. Contrasting with the cold, stadial, phases of millennial oscillations, we also show the emergence of strong interdecadal variability in the North Atlantic sector during warm interstadials. The instability driving these interdecadal-interstadial oscillations is shown to be identical to that found in ocean-only models forced by fixed surface buoyancy fluxes, that is, a large-scale baroclinic instability developing in the vicinity of the western boundary current in the North Atlantic. Comparisons with modern observations further suggest a physical mechanism similar to that driving the 30–40?years time scale associated with the Atlantic multidecadal oscillation.  相似文献   

Holocene circum-Mediterranean vegetation changes: Climate forcing and human impact   总被引：2，自引：0，他引：2  

Guy Jalut  Jean Jacques Dedoubat  Michel Fontugne  Thierry Otto 《Quaternary International》2009,200(1-2):4

The Mediterranean climate and its variability depend on global-scale climate patterns. Close correlations appear when comparing Holocene palaeoenvironmental data (lake levels, fluvial activity, Mediterranean surface temperature and salinity, marine sedimentation) with the main stages of the history of the circum-Mediterranean vegetation. They indicate an evolution of the Mediterranean biome controlled by the climate and emphasize the teleconnections between the climate of the Mediterranean area and the global climatic system. In the circum-Mediterranean area, the Holocene can be divided into three periods: a lower humid Holocene (11 500–7000 cal BP) interrupted by dry episodes; a transition phase (7000–5500 cal BP) during which occurred a decrease in insolation as well as the installation of the present atmosphere circulation in the northern hemisphere; and an upper Holocene (5500 cal BP—present) characterized by an aridification process. Throughout the Holocene, humans used and modified more or less strongly the environment but the climatic changes were the determining factors of the evolution of the Mediterranean biome. Societies had to adapt to natural environmental variations, their impact on the environment increasing the ecological consequences of the global changes.  相似文献   

Grain structure of the Earth's inner core     

Lucile Venet  Thierry Duffar  Renaud Deguen 《Comptes Rendus Geoscience》2009,341(7):513-516

The coarsening rate of an initial grain structure is calculated and compared to the inner core growth rate. An estimate of the present size of the grains in the centre of the core varies from 560 m to 12 km, depending on the value taken for the diffusion coefficient of iron in the core. Regardless of the hypotheses chosen, this size is homogeneous inside the inner core.  相似文献   

Neubenennungen lithostratigraphischer Einheiten in der Helvetischen Kreide     

Schweizerisches Komitee für Stratigraphie  Thierry Adatte  Jean-Pierre Berger  Hansruedi Bläsi  Reto Burkhalter  Stephan DallAgnolo  Danielle Decrouez  Hanspeter Funk  Heinz Furrer  Yves Gouffon  Hansruedi Graf  Werner Heckendorn  Wilfried Winkler 《Swiss Journal of Geoscience》2009,102(2):363-364

In September 2007 Föllmi and coauthors requested the approval of four lithostratigraphic terms of the Swiss Committee of Stratigraphy (SCS). These terms were to be used in their publication on the Cretaceous in the Helvetic realm (Föllmi et al. 2007). At its meeting on October 18, 2007, the SCS decided the following: The Tierwis Formation (replacing the Drusberg Formation) was accepted, with the reserve that a section at Tierwis should be published in the near future. For the former “Lower Orbitolina Beds” the term Rawil Member was accepted, but here too a better type section than the one at Rawil Pass should be published. The term Rohrbachstein bed should not be used as a formal unit because it describes only a minor lithologic variation within the Grünten Member. The term Plaine Morte bed for a thin condensed horizon can not be accepted due to the fact that its definition is based mainly on biostratigraphy. Furthermore, the duplication a locality term which is in use for a previously established lithostratigraphic unit should be avoided.  相似文献   

Relationships between hydrosedimentary processes and occurrence of mercury-resistant bacteria (merA) in estuary mudflats (Seine, France)     

Ramond JB  Berthe T  Lafite R  Deloffre J  Ouddane B  Petit F 《Marine pollution bulletin》2008,56(6):1168-1176

The Seine estuary (France) is one of the world's macrotidal systems that is most contaminated with heavy metals. To study the mercury-resistant bacterial community in such an environment, we have developed a molecular tool, based on competitive PCR, enabling the quantification of Gram-negative merA gene abundance. The occurrence of the Gram-negative merA gene in relation with the topology (erosion/deposit periods) and the mercury contamination of three contrasted mudflats was investigated through a multidisciplinary approach and compared with a non-anthropized site (Authie, France). The higher abundance of the Gram-negative merA gene in the Seine estuary mudflats indicates a relationship between the degree of anthropization and the abundance of the merA gene in the mudflat sediments. In the Seine mudflats, the maxima of abundance are always located in fresh sediment deposits. Therefore, the abundance is closely related with the hydrosedimentary processes, which thus seem to be determining factors in the occurrence of the Gram-negative merA gene in the surface sediments of the Seine's mudflat.  相似文献   

Faecal-indicator bacteria and sedimentary processes in estuarine mudflats (Seine, France)     

Berthe T  Touron A  Leloup J  Deloffre J  Petit F 《Marine pollution bulletin》2008,57(1-5):59-67

Over a three-year period, quantification of faecal indicators and the molecular detection of Escherichia coli and Salmonella were monitored in sediments from three contrasting mudflats of the Seine estuary (France). The elevation of the mudflat surface was monitored concurrently using a high-resolution altimeter. During the period of the study, estuarine mudflats were areas of deposition for faecal-indicator bacteria and were mainly controlled by sedimentary processes. In the intertidal freshwater and subtidal mudflats, the highest abundances of faecal-indicator bacteria were counted during a depositional period. Maximum levels were observed in the freshwater mudflats during periods of high flow: thermotolerant coliforms: 3.9 x 10(4) cfu cm(-2), enterococci: 1.2 x 10(4) cfu cm(-2), Clostridium perfringens spores: 9.8 x 10(5) spores cm(-2). Loss of culturability of enteric bacteria in sediment microcosms demonstrated the remediatory capacity of the mudflats, even if they might be a secondary source of bacteria-forming spores to the water column through erosion and resuspension events.  相似文献   

Comments on Muxika et al. "using historical data, expert judgement and multivariate analysis in assessing reference conditions and benthic ecological status, according to the European Water Framework Directive" [Marine Pollution Bulletin 55 (2007) 16-29     

Ruellet T  Dauvin JC 《Marine pollution bulletin》2008,56(6):1234-1235

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